Saving the sun...

[Anonymous]

If I understand the software correctly, a viewset created from a 'generic perspective' does not save information about the sun settings. A viewset does not record time and location, as the sun is a global item.

I have various views using one model, some I wish to render at night, some during the day. At the moment I have to modify the time settings every time I move from a day to a night view. Why not allow sun settings to be saved differently from one viewset to the next? Or am i missing something (hope i am!)?

[Dwight]

Generic is just that.

A handy way to preserve settings is to place cameras within the scene using the toolbar camera tool. Each placed camera can be set up as you like, shows on plan and gets numbered. They also appear in the Navigator for easy picking. I tested that individual settings are preserved.

[Anonymous]

That's very helpful, thank you.

[Laszlo Nagy]

But I believe the Sun IS saved with Views.
3D Projection Settings (which contains Sun Settings) and 3D Window Settings (which contains Shadow Settings) are saved.
However, it is true that this is not data/time and location from which Sun position would be automatically calculated.

[Erika Epstein]

after making your sun and other settings, you need to redefine the view on the last panel

"redefine view with 3D settings"

HTH

[Anonymous]

I wish you were wrong Laz, because that's just plain weird, but at least you've solved my problem. Not understanding that non-intuitive quirk has just wasted me a lot of time trying to save and re-save views while trying to work out why the date kept being wrong but the shadows stayed right.

I'd be calling this one a bug? Anyone looking at the Sun parameters would reasonably assume the Altitude, Azimuth, Date and Time were permanently linked. At the very least, a little Yellow Exclamation mark could be added to warn us whenever the date and time don't currently match the Altitude and Azimuth?
For any who come after, here's a visual...

[Laszlo Nagy]

I think the logic is that the Sun position is saved as you have shown in the image, and setting a location and date only gives the Sun position new values (which don't necessarily stick). You can then keep this Sun position or modify it to your liking. At which point the Sun data will not match those determined by location and date.
So Sun position is not driven by these values at all times.

[Anonymous]

Yep. Fuzzy logic
It's going to make sense to a computer, and maybe to a computer programmer, but not to an architect. I don't know about you, but I don't tend to think in terms of azimuth and altitude - I think in terms of date and time. So, the only way for me to check whether the azimuth & altitude are the correct date and time that I need is for me to re-enter the correct date and time! Un-necessary data re-entry is a big no-no.
What if I wanted to work backwards to find out what date and time was used in a previously saved view? The only way to answer that is by trial and error.
I reckon that's sufficiently fuzzy logic to require at least some form of alert/warning icon when the two don't match. Then, down the track they should have one of those link icons between the two, so we can permanently synch them if we choose.

[Laszlo Nagy]

You should make a wish about it so it gets to Graphisoft for their consideration.

[Anonymous]

I've just had a similarly frustrating time, setting up a shading study for the first time, using perspective openGL views.

After a bunch of experiments to track down the problem and/or work out how the frig it all works...or not...I can confirm that sun position -- whether entered as time or azimuth, etc -- is definitely NOT saved in views!!

It appears to be saved in the Camera that is the source viewport of the view (the Camera viewport in the Project Map).

If you have two views and they both have the same source Camera, then changing the sun position in one, changes it in the other -- regardless of how you "save the current window's settings in the view".

If you want to have multiple views with the same perspective but different sun positions, you must create a camera in the 2d plan window (using the Camera tool), set its position as required, and then copy/paste multiples of that camera... then save views from each of them, for each different sun position you require.